The leadership in Middle America should make us proud

I believe it was the great Mark Twain who said, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”

But what happens when the legislature is not in session? Are we in any worse danger? Apparently in Wisconsin and Indiana, where Democratic state legislators have refused to show up and vote on a budget bill, that’s the case.

Although Republicans in our nation’s capital have been pushing for deep budget cuts and will most likely have to compromise with their Democratic counterparts, a different situation is developing in Middle America, where Republican governors refuse to compromise when it comes to their stringent and fiscally responsible budget proposals.

Many of these governors are newly elected, and with their states in deep financial trouble, they have decided to unleash an offensive against the influence of public employee unions. Most notably, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced a proposal to reduce benefits for public employees, and more controversially, an initiative to restrain collective bargaining rights for union workers.

Upon hearing of Walker’s proposal, Wisconsin union workers fired back and began holding round-the-clock rallies at the state’s Capitol. Thousands of teachers, state and municipal workers left their jobs to join the rallies, declaring all-out war in an effort to pressure their state legislators to avoid a vote on the anti-union bill.

Democratic members of the state’s legislature succumbed to the pressure and have literally walked out on their responsibilities. Many remain secluded and are holed up in a hotel in Illinois.

Meanwhile, our friends at MoveOn.org have capitalized on the momentum in Wisconsin and are planning nationwide strikes in an effort to display solidarity against the anti-union bills.

I commend Walker for his refusal to back down. He has warned union leaders that there will be no compromise, and if the strikes continue he is ready to fire as many as 1,500 workers.

His threats didn’t fall on deaf ears. Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly abruptly passed the measure to strip collective bargaining from most public workers. However, the bill must now pass the Senate, but, sadly, most Democratic senators have left town, thus continuing the political standoff.

Walker isn’t alone in the fight. He is joined by fellow Republican governors like Ohio’s John Kasich, who has also drafted a proposal that would no longer give union workers the right to bargain for fringe benefits.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has emerged as the champion of this movement, announcing that he would double a state property tax credit if lawmakers require public employees to pay 30 percent of their health care premiums by 2014. They currently pay an average of 8 percent.

Christie has also told legislators that they must increase the retirement age of state workers and abolish cost-of-living adjustments.

This turbulence between elected officials and union workers reminds me of President Reagan’s fight with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization in 1981.

PATCO called a strike in an effort to win better pay and working conditions. Reagan, citing a federal law that prohibited federal unions from striking, gave the workers a deadline to return to work. More than 11,000 PATCO workers refused, and Reagan fired all of them. His actions set a precedent that our leaders would not cower from a fight against powerful unions. As a result of the PATCO strike, strikes nationwide have steadily declined.

What would happen if you or I disappeared from work and our responsibilities for a few days? I imagine we’d be fired.

Can what’s taking place in Wisconsin happen in the Empire State? In such a strong blue and pro-union state, I wouldn’t expect politicians to propose an agreement that would affect bargaining rights. However, with a majority of our labor contracts expiring in 2011-12, Governor Cuomo has made it clear that he is seeking $450 million in savings through new labor negotiations and concessions.

I admire the Republican governors in Wisconsin and Indiana for taking strong, no-nonsense stances against their municipal work forces and for making it clear that in their states, union pension and benefit packages will no longer hold the people hostage. Reagan would be proud.

Al D’Amato, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the founder of Park Strategies LLC, a public policy and business development firm. Comment below about this column or write ADAmato@liherald.com.